George Clooney thinks he's 'marrying up'

American actor George Clooney poses for photographers on the red carpet for the screening of the movie 'Monuments Men,' in Pioltello, near Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 10, 2014. (AP / Antonio Calanni)

George Clooney thinks he is "marrying up."

The actor is expected to marry human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in September and insists he is the lucky one in the relationship.

He told Variety: "I'm marrying up."

While the 53-year-old Clooney is used to speculation about his personal life, he recently spoke out to slam claims that Alamuddin's mother objected to their marriage on religious grounds. He admits it was "fun" to "slap" the false report.

He said: "It's just fun to slap those bad guys every once in a while, knock 'em around...

"I would sit with my friends and we'd just go, 'So they just sat at a computer and just went, 'OK, this is what I'm gonna say today.' I mean, literally, because you just go 'There isn't literally an element of truth in this.'

"You just laugh, and let it go. I'm used to it after all these years."

However, Clooney -- who was previously married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993 -- insisted he chooses his battles wisely and won't comment on every piece of speculation about his life.

He added: "That's why you pick your fights at a tabloid. Every day they write things that aren't true, but every once in a while they write something that is actually dangerous to your family, and it's probably not true. And that's the one you pick."